Creative Compulsion

Over the last 6 months, eBay has made some major changes, with more changes expected in the coming months. How has this affected me? Honestly, not a whole lot. I still hear the occasional rumblings of a boycott and sometimes read forum posts about how evil eBay is. Maybe I just got lucky, or maybe I just don’t subscribe to any particular conspiracy theory or Chicken Little mentality.

Am I crazy about some of the changes? No. But here’s what I’ve done in response.

Fees
Back in February, eBay made several changes to it’s pricing structure. Essentially, front end fees went down and back end fees went up. I like to call it Amazonification. This was actually a good thing for me, particularly with respect to the free gallery change. I used gallery on everything prior to the changes, so my fees actually decreased monthly.

Rumor has it more fee changes are on the horizon. Insertion fees are expected to be decreased even more as a way to promote fixed price listings. This would also work well for me. I sell only FP and Store Inventory.

Feedback
Now this is the one that irritated me. As of May 19th, sellers were no longer able to leave anything but positive feedback for buyers. Honestly, I agree with the majority here, this was an ill-thought out policy change and creates just as many problems as it purports to fix.

Luckily, I haven’t had any negative or neutral feedback given to me since the change. What I have noticed, however, is a steady increase in the number of UPIs and in requests to return items. Seems eBay buyers suddenly believe that a purchase is actually a “try it before you buy it” trial.

Granted, this change could merely be a coincidence, but I don’t think so. It seems to me that buyers realize there’s nothing I can do if they don’t read my return policy and follow it. Mind you, I’ve always offered a VERY liberal policy - 30 days, Money Back Guarantee - no restocking fee.

I’ve accepted returns for any reason and, up until now, very few buyers have taken advantage of it. The only requirement I have is that the items be returned in like new condition with all original packaging. Pretty simple, eh?

Suddenly, I’m receiving returns for the dumbest of reasons (ie. I purchased a remote trainer and thought it was an electric fence… huh??). A couple of weeks ago, a customer insisted a bark collar I sold him was defective. He wanted to exchange for a new one. OK, send it on back.

What I received back was a muddy, chewed up mess that obviously was used and guess what? It worked perfectly. He flat out told me that if I didn’t exchange it, I could expect negative feedback. Is this the type of buyer eBay is hoping to attract?

In light of this, I’ve made several changes to my return policy. First of all, you open it and use it - it’s yours. If it’s defective? Guess what, there’s a warranty - use it. If you return it to me and your dog used it for a chew toy? You can pay to have it sent back to you, otherwise consider it a donation to my local animal rescue shelter.

I hate to be that way, I really do. I want my customers to be happy and go to great lengths to make sure they are thrilled with their purchase. After all, word of mouth is the best advertising. But, by the same token, I’m not Wal-Mart. I don’t do millions in business per day, and therefore I can’t bend over for people that can’t read or are just plain idjits.

Choice Listings
OK, this one I like. There are no longer restrictions on placing choices in your listing. Say I had a collar in 3 different sizes. I used to have to create three separate listings. No more. I can now list all three sizes, a definite savings in fees. The only trick with this is inventory management, but since I sell all repeatables, I don’t see this as becoming a major issue.

Links Policy
Yeah, this one is a blow. I’ve always included informational links in my listings. They led to more detailed product information on my website. Nothing for sale on the pages, but most buyers could easily browse the site and buy directly if they chose. No more links like that.

I also display Authorized Retailer logos for my products. They link to a statement I’m required to have by the manufacturers. I’ve been told that these will no longer be allowed. This is really stupid, IMHO.

First of all, I’m required by contract to provide this information. Second, isn’t instilling buyer confidence what eBay is aiming for? These logos assure my customers that they are purchasing from an authorized dealer which means their warranty is 100% valid. I really hope eBay revisits this decision.

Finally, a redo of my ME page is going to have to happen. I currently have a link to my website. Not pushy, just says “Visit us on the web”. That’s gotta go now, too. This isn’t a huge deal for me, as my logs show little traffic generated from that link, but all the same, I’m not thrilled. This is MY business and if eBay can post off-site links right on their search pages, I should be able to direct MY customers to MY off-site business.

While I’m not thrilled with all the changes, all in all, it hasn’t affected me too much and the initial shock of some of the change has worn off. I know that many sellers have been affected much more by all of this, and I truly feel for them.

As always, it’s a matter of adapting. If you’re able to adapt your business to remain profitable on eBay, then by all means, do so. I’ll be the first to say, when eBay is no longer profitable for me, I’ll be gone.

Good luck to all!